Don't Fear the Reapers
by Samcyxk
Summary: Like many, Magus idolized Commander Rick Shepard and his defeat of the geth and Saren. 10 years have passed since that day, and strange things have been happening throughout space. Have the Reapers returned? Includes prologue and spoilers for end of game.
1. Prologue Part I

This is only the prologue to the actual story. Bear with me, it should only be two parts, and gives some of my personal insights into the final fight and scenes before and after.

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Saren looked down at Commander Rick Shepard – Spectre with an attitude, unbelievable accuracy, and a hell-bent determination. That determination was the thought of killing Saren, stopping the Reapers from using the Citadel to destroy all space.

The turian had been under the control of Sovereign, a Reaper that was a manipulative ship. Now, talking to the commander had let him break the spell for a short while. With his freedom temporarily restored, he told Shepard there was nothing that could be done.

"The implants…Sovereign's using them to make me do his bidding…" Sweat rolled down Saren's forehead, showing that going against his 'master' took an enormous amount of effort. His icy-blue chest heaved up and down, each breath a struggle to take a free being.

Slowly, he grasped his pistol harder, bringing it up to eye-level. The barrel pointed straight at Shepard but quavered; the turian didn't want to shoot the human standing before him.

"Don't do it, Saren," Garrus said in a blunt, commanding voice. His eye, black as night, fixated on the Spectre aiming a loaded gun at Shepard's head: Shepard, the human whom Garrus had idolized for his bravery, cunning, and prowess. Quickly, he reached behind his back and pulled out a black assault rifle. Cocking the gun, he aimed at Saren.

"You pull your trigger, I'll pull mine. Don't. Do. It."

Closing his eyes, Saren replied, "I can't stop myself. Sovereign's control is returning; it's too late."

Shepard cocked his head to the side, and looked at Saren. His voice wasn't deep, but it a certain grit in it that struck fear into every sentient being in Citadel space. The red light coming from the fires and destruction around the tower lit up his brown skin and eyes as he said, "It's never too late."

These words found their way to Saren's nearly dead heart. Slowly, it revitalized his will; once again, he had the power to move himself. "That's right…" He opened his eyes. His arm was shaking, but he was able to lift it and stick the pistol's barrel to the side of his head.

**Feros colony**

The council looked head-on at Saren and Nihlus, who stood perfectly in military fashion.

"Welcome to the Spectres," the Asari councilor said.

"It's an honor," Saren replied.

"For me, as well," Nihlus replied.

Saren turned to the fellow turian beside him. "Protect Citadel space until the end?" he asked.

Nihlus nodded.

"Until the end."

**Citadel Tower**

The memory flashed by Saren in an instant as he bid them farewell. "Thank you, Shepard…" He pulled the trigger.

The blast of gunfire echoed throughout the otherwise empty tower summit. Saren's eyes rolled into the back of his head as he fell over the platform and plummeted down to the small atrium below them. As he reached the halfway point, his body shattered the glass ceiling. Shards fell with him as he hit the bottom. There Saren lay, lifeless.

Shepard sighed. "It's over…"

Wrex nodded. "Finally. It's about time we ended that damn turian's killing spree."

As he looked down to the corpse, Shepard muttered, "This is what you died to help accomplish, Kaidan…thank you…" He turned to Wrex and Garrus. "Let's go down and make sure he's really dead."

**Citadel: Space**

"We need all our ships firing at Sovereign!" Joker screamed into the communications device. "I don't give a damn if the Council's on your ship! We need all the firepower we can get to take that thing down!"

He turned back to the full controls. "Alright, Joke. Aim for the head, then squeeze the trigger and never let go." He slowly closed his eyes. "Not even death could pull my hand away from the trigger."

**Citadel Tower**

"He's dead, all right," Wrex said as he shot. He put his pistol away, and turned to the huge glass window behind the Council area.

"Now we just have to defeat Sovereign," Garrus said.

Unbeknownst to them, however, something stirred behind them. Shepard was the first to sense it.

Quickly, he spun around. There floating in the air above them, was Saren.


	2. Prologue Part II

"Impossible…" Garrus uttered. Quickly, he turned his head to Wrex, then back to the Turian hovering before them. "You shot him!"

"Yeah, I know," Wrex replied, taking his shotgun out. "Apparently, it wasn't enough."

"No, it was enough." It was Saren who spoke, yet it wasn't him. Something was familiar in the cynical tone and deep voice. No, this wasn't Saren…

"Sovereign!" Shepard said matter-of-factly. "You bastard."

With a laugh, Sovereign said, "Ha. You wish you could say that to my actual face. Not like you could get close enough without dying." A jolt of red electricity flowed through Saren's body, causing the thing to writhe in the air. The electricity shot out across the vivarium, and nearly hit all three standing there; Garrus and Wrex dove to the sides as Shepard ducked.

Now the body that Sovereign hosted fell to the floor on all fours; it resembled a geth stalker. There were unsteady breaths coming from it. "It ends now," Sovereign said. It jumped up to the ceiling.

As Shepard looked at the disgusting thing, he couldn't help but remember something Saren himself had said.

**Citadel Tower**

There was a wicked grin twisting onto Saren's face. The turian obviously knew how to play the Council for saps; and damn, was he doing a good job of it. They had believed every little word he had said.

Shepard looked into Saren's eyes. The turian could care less about the humans before him. "I'm glad to see justice was served."

**Citadel Tower: Vivarium**

"Justice will be served," Shepard declared almost silently as he cocked his gun. He took aim at Saren's body, and couldn't help but feel a knot twisting in his stomach. But this one was different; usually it was excitement getting tangled up. This time around, however, it was fear. For one time in what seemed like forever, he felt terror.

"Commander!" Garrus yelled, taking out his shotgun. "If we don't make it through this, I just want to let you know…I appreciate everything you've done for me!" He grinned, eyes closed.

Wrex grunted, then mustered a small smile. "Same here, Shepard. Thank you for everything: the armor, making me see the errors of my ways…You're a regular saint."

Closing his eyes, Shepard took a shot. It started.

Sovereign flew around the room, screaming and shooting missiles from…somewhere on that horribly perverted body. Each of the three could only get a few shots into him before he moved.

This was going to take a while.

**Citadel Space: Inside the Arms**

"This is Flagship Ascension! Come in! Please, the Council is aboard, we need to get out of here!"

"Negative." Admiral Hackett's voice came over the communicator. "Concentrate everything you've got on Sovereign; this is our only chance to take that big-ass bastard down."

Joker's hand was still firmly on the trigger. "Ascension, you heard him! Continue to fire. Saving the Council is secondary to stopping Sovereign!" His eyes were fixated on the giant claw-like ship that had docked itself inside the Citadel's arms. "Go to hell."

**Citadel Tower: Vivarium**

Saren's body was beginning to slow down. "We're almost there!" Garrus said confidently. He fired round after round, teeth clenched. Sweat poured down all three's heads.

Then it happened: Shepard fired, and Saren's body dropped to the ground. It wriggled around and around before one last shot of electricity came from it. To conclude its existence, it dissipated, all parts vanishing.

**Citadel Space: Inside the Arms**

Sovereign lurched forward. It seemed that the firing was working, and they were going to win. But before it went down, it fired one last missile…right at the Ascension.

The ship didn't have any time to react. As soon as the missile hit, they were blown to pieces.

Nevertheless, Sovereign fell off of its beacon, and blew up. Fragments of it began to scatter. One rather large part of it, though, flew right at Citadel Tower.

**Citadel Tower**

The group had walked out of the vivarium, and turned to leave. But instinctively, Shepard turned to the window. A gargantuan scrap of metal flew at them. "LOOK OUT!"

Before the other two had time to react, Shepard shoved them out of the way. Moments later, the ship piece hit the floor.

**Later**

"Urgh!...Come on…" Using all of his strength, he threw the piece of metal to the side. He bent down to look inside. "Whoa…!"

A krogan and a turian were inside, sitting. "Captain Anderson! I found them!"

Anderson rushed over to the wreckage, and indeed, Garrus and Wrex were there. Anderson and the rescue team helped them out. "Thank God you're alive," he said.

"Where's Shepard? Where's the commander?"

Garrus sharply turned his head to the side, and a tear escaped from him. Wrex shook his head, his eyes closed gently. This caused Anderson to shake his head, very slowly. "No…"

He let his head hang as he began to lead the group out of the rubble.

Footsteps.

Wrex turned to the large piece of wreckage, and before his eyes, something amazing happened. "No way…"

Anderson turned around, and his eyes light up in awe.

For on top of the gigantic piece of Sovereign was Commander Shepard.

**Udina's Chamber**

"I'm quite sorry for any hard feelings," Captain Anderson said in a rather apologetic tone. Ambassador Udina rubbed his cheek, with a slight grimace.

"Well, it had to be done." He turned to the commander. "Shepard, I am most humbly sorry for attempting to ground you. If it wasn't for your…blunt and clear defiance of me and the council, we'd all be dead right now."

"Speaking of the Council," Anderson said. "They're all dead. What do we do?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Anderson raised an eyebrow as Udina spoke. "We create an all human council.

"I would like to thank the commander. If it hadn't been for his order, the old council would still be in this galaxy."

"When I saw the chance to get rid of them, I took it," Shepard said matter-of-factly.

"What are you saying?!" Anderson exclaimed. "Can you hear yourself?!"

"You know it, too," Shepard replied. "The Council was holding us back."

"Yes!" Udina declared. "It's all thanks to you, Commander Shepard! The ruthless pursuit of Saren – the hunting of the geth – this shows what humanity is capable of! We can rise up and lead the other races!"

Anderson sighed. "You're right." He turned to Shepard. "Thank you."

"In forming the new Council," Udina continued, "we'll need a leader." He eyed the commander. "Shepard…who will be at the seat of the Council? Myself, or Captain Anderson?"

Shepard sighed. "We need someone with a determination of iron and a good fist – no offense, ambassador. Someone who can make decisions and listen to what he thinks is best." His brown eyes glided over to the captain. "Captain Anderson should be the head."

"I applaud your decision," Udina said, clapping for a moment. "Now, what will you do?"

"The Reapers are still out there. I'm gonna kill every last one of them." Shepard turned and walked towards C-Sec headquarters, to the Normandy.

As he did, Anderson nodded. "It is time for humanity to rise to the level it was meant to be at. We will lead the galaxy to an era of peace, prosperity, and efficiency. It is time to stand up and show what we are made of."

**End of Prologue**


	3. The Orders

The sun peaked over the horizon, its yolk coloring illuminating the light, slightly fluffy, velvety flannel of the plain white blanket. Morning came like this nearly everyday on the Citadel; the sunlight was magnificent, its rays satisfying everyone to the level of thought-defying neutrality; every citizen filled with love and, with a carefree persona, went about their day.

This was life, and, though unrealistically simplistic, it contented the Turian groggily getting up from the under the pale yellow-colored blanket. Slowly but steadily he wiped sleep from his eyes, blinking a few times between short staccato yawns.

Stumbling over the quite misplaced tissue box, laying randomly in the middle of the carpet, he made it to the closet. Still partially in the world of blissful sleep, he fumbled for the handle, grabbing it after a few failed attempts and holding on tight. Then, what seemed like a sudden bout of psychosis washed over him. The Turian began to screech, and smashed his head against the door. In reality, it was his "unique" way of waking himself up.

"Last time I stay up late at night when I know a big day's ahead…" He'd said that at least 5 times now, each time forgetting and deciding to live life. In no hurry, he took his time getting the armor on. After that, and a quick bite of Fruit Loops (freshly imported from Earth) he went to the base.

What started out as a slow, uneventful day was lightened by the Turian's commanding officer giving him the news.

"Commander!"

The Turian, though a bit flustered, reverted to his natural function, a salute. An Asari ran up to him, the Commando obviously having heard something quite exciting. "Commander, orders just came down from the Council."

"What are they, miss?"

The Asari sighed. "Commander, how many times must I tell you not to call me 'miss'? I'd prefer the name I was given by my parents – Rosa." She was without a doubt irked at the Turian, but couldn't hide a playful grin. "Anyway, you and your team are to go on a refueling mission to Therum. The commands were already transferred to the Mongoose. Happy travelling." Rosa spun nimbly on her heel, and walked away with a smile. The Turian silently mouthed, "thank you" before heading the opposite direction.

**UCA**** (?) Mongoose**

Albeit only walking through C-Sec Academy for less than a minute, the Turian was disgusted. How all those people could be tied up in so much red tape and not seem to care eluded him. Very impatient as he rode the elevator to the ship dock, he pondered what life would be like in C-Sec. Well, it couldn't be adventurous, opposite of being commander of a ship that travelled the Milky Way.

As he stepped onto the ship, he was greeted by a woman was short-cropped blond hair, a pair of glasses, and sparkling blue eyes. Her cheeks showed faint signs of blush, something the human was probably applying before receiving the orders. "G'morning, commander! Great day for flying, isn't it?"

Now this was a human with whom the Turian could get along with. She enjoyed living and teetering on the brink of death, only to leap back. She had once mentioned someone named 'Agito' in something called 'manga' who shared her personality to that extent. (??) What she had meant still confused the Turian.

"It definitely _is_ a good day for interstellar travel, Samantha," he replied, stroking the gleaming black assault rifle strapped to his back. "Too bad there won't be any enemies to dispose of. That's the fun part."

Turning to the cockpit, the human – Samantha – grinned. "Shepard took care of that for all of us. 10 years he's been a councilor and protector of peace throughout the galaxy. Pretty hefty job if you ask me, but he manages to get the job done."

"The man's a living legend. I wouldn't put it past him." The Turian walked away, to the galaxy map. There was the ship's captain, another Turian by the name of Garrus Vakarian. He saluted the other Turian, and vice versa.

"Good morning, captain."

"Good morning, commander."

The first Turian stalked over to the map. "Therum isn't all too far from here – only to Argos Rho. Won't be much to do but play a little board game."

"Or pazaak (???)," Garrus said with a laugh that the Turian beside him partook in.

"Or that."

"Captain! Commander! Lieutenant!" Samantha's voice suddenly boomed from the loudspeaker she kept, for no apparent reason, by her seat at the controls. "Come here!"

The two Turians went to her, followed closely behind by a male human with an almost buzz haircut.

Samantha leaned against the steering wheel. "I was just informed by Head Councilor Anderson that the group at Therum requested a little firepower for a few days, just in case. I know the three of you love more than anything to shoot crap, so I wanted to let you guys know firsthand." She waved the three away, muttering that she needed to prep the engines.

"Oh! Magus!" The first Turian spun to look at the woman. "Lieutenant Aiker wanted me to tell you he has some shotgun upgrades ready for you whenever you're ready. More ways to go wild, I hear."

Magus grinned. "Thanks a bunch, Sam. I'll be sure to check that out." Smiling, he walked away, letting the deep red of his armor be reflected by the numerous computers, whose functions only a handful of the crew knew top to bottom. The black areas shone with an unearthly brilliance, dark yet light. It was still a bit of a mystery as to how the material was made that way. Of course, that was of no concern to Magus.

The Turian, in a way, shared his personality with that of Samantha and the ambiguous "Agito." The only major difference was that he felt uncomfortable when flirting with almost certain disaster; he much preferred blasting the shit out of the enemy and blowing out a smoking gun with no lump in his gizzard. Now that was the best feeling in the universe.

Venturing back to the galaxy map, Magus first noticed that Garrus wasn't present; the second thing he saw was the lieutenant absent-mindedly loitering by the device. A cigarette was clenched between his teeth, the smoke wafting into his black Bret Michaels hairdo. (????) How the man could honestly stand the stench coming from the cigarette was unknown to the Turian. But he went to the human, a little apprehension there, mostly covered by anticipation and anxiety.

"Samantha said you had a few upgrades for ol' Mr. Shotty." Relinquishing the shotgun from the pouch on his back, Magus grinned. "That true, lieutenant?"

The lieutenant plucked the cigarette out of his mouth, tossed it to the floor, and stamped it out all in one swift movement. Now the foul thing was no more than road-kill. "Follow me, commander."

Nodding, Magus turned to a robotic device near the galaxy map. "CE-914, get us en route to Therum."

"Of course, commander." It was so nice to hear a machine that had personality programmed into it. No longer scratchy, dull voices greeted every command; machines had gotten artificial feelings to make people more comfortable. This always brought a smile to the Turian ordering it around like a tiny metal slave.

Magus went after the human until the two came to a locked canister. Withdrawing a key from his pocket, he unlocked it. He then proceeded to pull out to small parts. "A conditioner," he said, "that speeds up your gun's cool down rate." He motioned to the other thing. "This here's a specially made, custom propel…ish device. It gives 60 percent more thrust to the bullets." Grinning, he tossed both things to Magus.

"Commander, approaching the Mu Relay." Samantha's voice came from the loudspeaker. How she was able to fly and speak into a loudspeaker was a major mystery. But nonetheless, they were shot by the relay to Argos Rho. In no time, Therum was in sight.

After another few hours, a small group was disembarking from the ship. A purple-armored Quarian greeted them with a grunt, plus a blunt motion to a rather miniscule encampment on the horizon line. All those from the Mongoose followed the Quarian to a medium-large tent. Out of it half-walked half-waddled a Krogan who looked like he'd seen his fair share of combat. The brown scar running down the right side of his face made Samantha cringe a tiny bit.

From out of the mini-crowd walked Garrus, who went up to the Krogan.

"Wrex." He grinned.

"Garrus." The Krogan, Wrex, shot back a grin of his own. "You know, I fought with you, Shepard, and the rest of the crew 10 years back. I belong on the battlefield with no odds on my side; and look where they have me." He extended his arms and twirled around. "Nothin' but frickin' lava everywhere! Kinda reminds me of my soul…Or hell."

Laughing, Garrus replied, "You haven't changed a bit. We brought he supplies."

"Thanks, Garrus." He sighed. "You no doubt heard our little base needs more guns for a few boring days?"

With a contempt sneer, Garrus said, "Didn't think this place would need more firepower, what with you here."

"These scientists ain't fighters. They are what they are – scientists. No biotech or combat skills to be found."

At this point, Garrus beckoned the entire group over. "I guess it's time for intros." But just as Magus was going to introduce himself to the legendary Wrex, there was a rumble in the distance, followed by a shrill shriek. Immediately, guns were in the hands of everyone there; even Samantha sported a rifle.

"Looks like we're about to get some more company," the lieutenant muttered.

"Got room for more guests?" Samantha asked with a chuckle.

"No more room for guests, but I'll greet corpses with open arms." Wrex's response got a few quickly quelled laughs.

"Well, you know what I like to say," Magus said firmly. "Shoot now, ask questions later."

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Notes from that one insane guy who writes this stuff:

? - UCA stands for "United Council Alliance." After the human council was establishe, they changed the name.

?? - Samantha mentions Agito and manga. Manga are Japanese comic books. Agito is from the series 'Air Gear.' He and Akito share the same body, as Akito has split personality disorder. Agito is the one who loves blood and the thrill of flirting with disaster.

??? - For fans of Knights of the Old Republic, this shouldn't be unfamiliar. Pazaak is a card game in which players use numbered cards to try and get 20 points, but no more. Whoever wins 3 sets wins the game.

???? - Bret Michaels was the lead singer of Poison, a band from the '80s. He had long, usually unkempt hair.


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